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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 9, 2010 13:24:59 GMT 12
I have been looking at the lovely crisp sattelite imagery we now have for Hobsonville on Google Maps, and I began to wonder about the names of the little bays immediately around it.
There is Catalina Bay - I wonder if this was named/renamed after the war or during that time, and is it a generalised name or is it named for a specific event? Did a Catalina crash there at any point?
The is Bomb Bay - I am assuming this is the site of the bombing range that was established in these waters in 1938. I'll check on that as I have the exact details somewhere of where the range was.
There are Limeburners Bay and Brickbat Bay - do these names go back to the days when there was a large clay works there making bricks?
There's a Nimrod Inlet, I wonder what that was named after? Surely not the Hawker Nimrod.
The region where the wet apron and wharf are seems to be called Sunset Bay which is nice. I never knew that before. The odd thing is the main road that leads down there from Hobby is called Hudson Bay Road but there's no Hudson Bay?
I also note in Beach Road there is a Married Quarter house marked on the map as China Restaurant and Bar. Is that correct?? The area is still restricted to get into so it seems odd to have a bar and restaurant tucked away at the back of a restricted airfield where no-one lives anymore, in a house!
I also note that Gogle Maps have spelled Nevill Road wrong.
A final observation, there is a shitload of earthworks going on around Upper Harbour Drive!! It's a shame this pristine little paradise that was is being redeveloped and ruined.
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Post by alanw on Jan 10, 2010 15:22:54 GMT 12
Hi Dave Interesting Post. Interestingly Google maps use the same as Wises Maps I am wondering if Bomb Bay is due to the fact that the Bomb Dump was in that area? Looking at the map it's about the right place place  As far as I know Limeburners Bay has been around a long time, and from memory (I have a paper cutting some where) Clay (and lime) was collected from there for Brick making. Brickbat Bay  Brickbat means criticism/reproach etc So wonder how Brickbat Bay received it's name There was an area called Sunderland cove, but that seems to have disappeared It's also possible that names like Catalina/Hudson were given due to aircraft types that had some connection with Hobby I notice at Whenuapai there are Streets with names that the 4 Mk III Sunderlands. (Tainui/ Takitimu etc) carried, but the Sunderland were not associated with that base. Be interested to know why these names are given Hope other members can shed more light (I really enjoy these types of thread discussions) Regards Alan |
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Jan 10, 2010 16:31:57 GMT 12
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Post by Bruce on Jan 10, 2010 16:45:14 GMT 12
Brickbats were originally paddles used to shape bricks in a brickworks - such as the Clark Brick and pottery works located at Hobsonville in the late 1800s. (hence also Clark Rd) The Clark homestead, made out of very unusual ceramic blocks is/ was the defence Medical unit. The company moved to New Lynn about the turn of the century, and eventually merged with other brick and ceramic companies to become Ceramco.
I suspect some of the names of bays such as Nimrod Inlet, Orion and Harrier Points are probably fairly modern names applied by developers to previously un-named features.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 10, 2010 17:41:40 GMT 12
Brickbats is also the word my Dad used to describe my Mum's scones as, before she gave up making them.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 10, 2010 18:30:41 GMT 12
What is meant on Bruce's map by the term Glasshouse. Is it some notable feature of the area? Did they make glass there too, or is it a house made of glass? Or is it just a normal glasshouse for growing flowers or crops?
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Jan 10, 2010 20:36:14 GMT 12
What is meant on Bruce's map by the term Glasshouse. Is it some notable feature of the area? Did they make glass there too, or is it a house made of glass? Or is it just a normal glasshouse for growing flowers or crops? I just took another chunk out of that topomap, but from further west and you can see there are several glasshouses shown in the area. I don't know if that is still the case, as the map software (NZ Mapped) I took that from is several years old now.  I'm going to be in Christchurch in a few weeks so will probably head for mapworld in Gloucester Street (I reckon they're by far the best map shop in NZ) as I want to check out the Freshmap software. They will have it set up in demo mode in a shop computer, so I will be able to try it before I buy it. NZ Mapped has a few issues with Windows Vista (it's old software now) and it also uses the NZMG map grid system, whereas Freshmap uses both the old NZMG and the new NZTM map grid systems, plus it has 3-D modes as well and the actual map data will be right up to date. |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 10, 2010 22:21:12 GMT 12
Seems an odd thing to feature on a map. I note the sawmill at Whenuapai gets a mention too.
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Post by steve on Jan 11, 2010 2:54:30 GMT 12
Interesting thread. I wonder if the bomb stores around the base seashore are stilled closed off. I suspect so. Bofors point would be the position of Light AA gun emplacements during ww2. There was also a heavy concrete heavy aa emplacement very close by 3.7 inch like the whenuapai emplacment. Catalina bay i suppose was called that because of the cats been morred there before going to fiji.Worth reading about name places in the Hobsonville /whenuapai area is from memory a book called "horses and flying Fortresses" after that famous B17 crash. It has much infomation on the early days of the area. Also the recent book i puchased called just HOBSONVILLE a history: must have been mentioned here before.
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Post by Peter Lewis on Jan 11, 2010 20:29:02 GMT 12
The crop-growing glasshouses are still evident at Whenuapai.
They are not flagged as a reporting point (being located within the circuit) so are of only passing interest to aviators - except for Craig McNeil who managed to put down PA38 ZK-FSB in among them and walk away in 2006. They couldn't use the plane again though.
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Post by ErrolC on Jan 11, 2010 21:40:37 GMT 12
The crop-growing glasshouses are still evident at Whenuapai. They are not flagged as a reporting point (being located within the circuit) so are of only passing interest to aviators - except for Craig McNeil who managed to put down PA38 ZK-FSB in among them and walk away in 2006. They couldn't use the plane again though. Also the RAAF Mirage pilot that went a bit fast over Whenuapai after an exercise in the late 80s... |
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Post by beagle on Jan 13, 2010 15:19:08 GMT 12
sure it wasn't the early 80's after his getting almost carried out and fitted into his cockpit then buzzed OH at rooftops height, or am I thinking of another incident.
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debren
Leading Aircraftman
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Post by debren on Apr 3, 2017 8:26:55 GMT 12
Hi there - I hope you don't mind my crashing the thread here.
I had a bit of a giggle about the glasshouses query. We live nearby, there is a nursery there. There are also glasshouses off Puriri RD.
I am information seeking though. On the right of Bomb Bay is the Engine Testing Bay - does anyone have any specific information about this Building. Asking for my daughter who is doing a school project on the area. We have searched everywhere and are struggling to even find it mentioned in websites. Seemingly it has now been turned into a Community Plant Nursery. I cant even find exactly what it was used for though we can guess. Any info - or a point in the right direction would be gratefully received! Thanks so much. If we find anything interesting to contribute to the thread I will get my daughter to post.
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Post by camtech on Apr 3, 2017 9:59:43 GMT 12
I assume you are talking about Kaipatiki Engine Bay Community Nursery, on Bomb Point Road.
Looking at the building, I would guess that it was used for aircraft engine testing back in wartime and postwar years. Location would have been to reduce noise in surrounding areas.
I can't recall Hobsonville being a repair depot for engines as such, but with the Aircraft Assembly based there probably a need to be able to test engines as part of the assembly process.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 3, 2017 14:56:51 GMT 12
I am pretty sure the engines were repaired and had heavy maintenance at Hobsonville before WWII (when we only had two stations and the other was Wigram), and early in the war Hobsonville was the site of No. 1 Repair Depot before it shifted to Hamilton in 1942.
Also subsequent to this seven-year-old thread I have also learned there was a pre-war, WWII and postwar bombing range in the sea off Hobsonville so I assume that was in Bomb Bay.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 3, 2017 15:07:08 GMT 12
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Post by pjw4118 on Apr 4, 2017 15:03:23 GMT 12
In the second to last map note Pine Is , now Herald Is and connected by a causeway. It was pre war a type of hippy community ( or so my father said ). Limeburners Bay is the site of the Clarke works now mostly built over but the source of big pottery pavers for the locals for many years. Brickbat Bay at the end of Scott Rd holds a reserve full of bricks and pipes , all broken, while the bombing range Dave mentions was on a sandbank at the end of Te Atatu point and three poles that held the target flat remain. Bill Simpson who was at 1 EFTS at Whenuapai said they practiced bombing using Tiger Moths.
When we moved into the area some 30 years ago I dont recall hearing engines run up at Hobbie ( plenty at Whenuapai) but the adjacent rifle range was used right up to Hobbies closure and not just for .22.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 4, 2017 15:19:35 GMT 12
Where Whenuapai Air Force Base is now and the Whenuapai village all the way to Pine Island was a whole community of pacifists who'd stood up against the war in WWI, plus others who'd joined them in the 1920's etc. It seems ironic they were forced out by the Government to build a bomber base.
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Brickbat means criticism/reproach etc
